When emergency medical personnel respond to the scene of an accident, it is often necessary for them to immobilize the spine of a patient so as to avoid any chance of aggravating a possible spinal injury while transporting the patient to a medical facility. This must be done with care, due to the delicate nature of spinal injuries, but it also must be done quickly, since the patient may be in need of urgent medical attention that can only be provided at a hospital or other medical facility.
So as to safely transport a patient with a possible spinal injury, emergency medical vehicles typically carry a spine immobilizing backboard. The backboard must be rigid, and strong enough to carry a full-sized adult male without sagging or breaking. Most backboards used by emergency and rescue professionals are 72″ (6′) long. These boards are sufficient for the transporting most patients up to 6′ tall, but are not suitable for someone that is more than 6′ 6″ in height, since the feet and calves of the patient will extend beyond the end of the board, possibly resulting in the application of unwarranted stress and possible injury to the lumbar region of the spinal column. Backboards with lengths up to 80″ (6′ 8″) exist, but due to their cumbersome size they are used mostly at specific, fixed locations, such as professional sporting arenas.
When a very tall patient is the object of an emergency response, the patient is typically placed on a spine immobilizing backboard of standard length in preparation for transport to a hospital. Once the patient is on the standard backboard, if it is determined that the standard backboard is too short, a “pediatric spine board” is often placed on top of the standard backboard and positioned underneath the head and torso of the patient. However, this entire procedure typically provides inferior support for the patient, and it can require up to 15 minutes to complete, as compared to an average of 5 minutes or less when immobilizing and transporting someone of average height.
The typical 18 inch width of a standard backboard is sometimes also insufficient for use with large patients, making it difficult to grasp and hold the handles provided along the sides of the backboard.